11th September - our 47th wedding anniversary!
Morning at Southwild then transfer back to Cuiabá
Morning at Southwild then transfer back to Cuiabá
We arose at the usual time and birded around the lodge and by the feeders. Birds seen around which I haven't mentioned already were Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Purplish Jay, and Eared Dove accompanying the by now very familiar Baywings, Cardinals and Picazuro Pigeons. We had breakfast at 6:30 then headed out to the Transpantaneira in the truck again to see what we could find. One of the first sights of interest was a dead Caiman, which we assumed to be a roadkill, with the inevitable attendant Black Vultures and a Caracara. We were then rewarded with nice views of a Campo Flicker on a termite mound, then a pair of Savannah Hawks in a tree, followed by nice views of the superb looking Whistling Heron with its buffy neck, bare pale blue facial skin, and blue-grey crown and upper parts and buffy striated wing coverts. We saw two birds including one in a nice longish flight past the truck. There were several trees with beautiful pink blossom which were very photogenic, and a raptor species which we had noted on most outings along the road - Snail Kite. As usual, Egrets both Great and Snowy were numerous at any wet area by the road, as were Jacare Caiman and Capybaras. We got back to the lodge for 9:30, when we need to pack and vacate our rooms by 10:30. We then had free time and chill and/or bird and lunch at 12 noon. We left the lodge at 2:30- p.m., this time in our comfortable airconn'ed Merc minibus and drove all the way back to Cuiabá and the airport, where we checked in our baggage. We then had dinner in the excellent restaurant that we had visited on our arrival on 2nd Sep. We then headed back to the airport and caught the late flight to São Paulo where we arrived just before midnight, and after clearing security, were taken by minibus to an on-airport hotel at 1:15, to get some sleep.